What is your goal with hosting on Airbnb? Occasional extra income? Reliable extra income? Income replacement? Depending on your goals, the time, money, and risk investment for hosting via Airbnb can vary.

When you host on Airbnb, you literally invite complete strangers into your home. If you are renting out the entire property, you should ask yourself if you are able to comfortably and reliably communicate with and host total strangers?

Another thing to consider is the time commitment to being an Airbnb host. Especially in the beginning, more time and effort than you realize may be involved. Even when everything is systematized, you may still need to be on call for emergencies when a guest is residing.

What’s your special angle? What makes your property different from all the others around the same size and price range in the same location? Why would a guest want to book with you rather than someone else? This could include photos and descriptions, as well as pricing and reviews.

How will the neighbors react when they find out you are hosting on Airbnb? This will depend on your city and neighborhood, so do some homework.

Optimal pricing takes a little while to set up and to keep right as you continue to host on Airbnb. Are you up for constantly monitoring rates and special events in order to keep your pricing optimized?

You’ll also have to keep up with the market and local happenings, even different types of travelers based on the season!

Airbnb hosting will interrupt your life here and there, especially if you are not hiring a property management company (like me!) to help you with all of the things listed above.